Tuesday, 21 November 2017

Once again the opium smoke parts as the crypt creaks open to
reveal the dark and shadowy shape of a new Byronic Sex & Exile
EP. As old school as Bela Lugosi's cape 'Under The Gaze Of And
Indifferent God' is a homage to the decadent trad goth of years gone
by played with a knowing glint of irony in its eye.

Picking
up where last years 'Crimes Of Passion' EP left off with another four
cuts of steady mechanical beats, old school guitars, synths and
melancholic vocals with elements of acts such as Dead Can Dance, Gene
Loves Jezebel, Flesh For Lulu, Rose Of Avalanche, Rosetta Stone,
Children On Stun and Love Like Blood distilled through an atmosphere
befitting a German expressionist film.

The likes of 'Under
Heaven', and 'True Slave' bookend the EP with opulent and mournful
gothic hymns made to echo eldritch halls. While 'Heresy In Flesh' and
'Purity' dial up the dance elements that in the 90s would have set
the club scene on fire. Even though there are only four songs, the
track list seems to cover all the bases in terms of what a damn good
trad goth record was and still can be.

All of the old school
sounds are present; drum machine beats, cheesy but atmospheric
synths, and jagged post-punk guitar lines and the deep crooning
baritone. But it doesn't try to recreate a specific sound. It takes
those sounds and records them to a modern standard. As such the
production pulls the best out of the tracks instead of trying to copy
what was the standard of the era.

This is an unashamed love
letter to gothic rock that takes the familiar elements and continues
the tradition rather than simply imitating it into parody. As such
the songs sound like classic singles rather than a clumsy rip-off,
and is a joy to listen to as a result.